Mission accomplished.
After a loud outcry, Abaddon suddenly fell silent. This was something Anakin had entrusted him to do, and of course, he knew Anakin was backed by Paradise, but so what?
He wasn't interested in speculating about good and evil but inherited the simple values of the vast majority of Players—the huge monster in the sky looked too ugly to be good. Attacking it was undoubtedly the right choice.
He just needed to bring up this topic.
If the leader of the Homeward Saints Guild wasn't familiar with the game, they wouldn't possibly accept such an outrageous proposal. The problem was, the Homeward Saints Guild was precisely composed of professional players and amateur experts.
They still believe this was a game, and they knew best what "game" meant.
From creatively solving quests, challenging higher levels, and collecting bizarre endings, to exploiting bugs, killing enemies in plot twists, and achieving no-damage completions, for top-level players, "playing by the rules" was the least interesting way to play.
There were no cutscenes here.
The massive monster suspected to be the "Demon King's true form" had appeared. Could one resist trying it out? Compared to the seemingly never-ending main quest chains, wasn't it more interesting to leapfrog and attack the final boss?
The challenge was just within reach. Wouldn't you be curious?
Wouldn't you give it a try?
Above the night sky, the figure entwined with countless flesh limbs quietly waited.
"Leave a search team to continue looking for NPCs. The combat team follows me."
Hot Ash quickly made a judgment, swallowing his saliva with a somewhat hoarse voice. "The strategy analysis team goes first. Don't attack. Just probe its pattern and try to get the basic data within fifteen minutes."
Abaddon knew about the strategy analysis team. They actually weren't high level but possessed all kinds of unique skills. To ensure the core combat force didn't lose levels, the strategy analysis team always went first when encountering an unknown boss—to measure the boss' basic values, combat mechanics, and the like.
"This is just a trial. Don't feel pressured," Hot Ash added a few words immediately, calming the restless Players.
The monster was too far away. The first round of attacks flew towards that hovering figure.
Nol easily neutralized the first wave of attacks with a flick of his fingers. Now, with Enbillick trapped in [Mercy Countdown], Star Stealer Sol's true form, lacking conscious command, instinctively entered a full defensive state.
The opportunity shouldn't be missed.
But now wasn't the time to attack.
Star Stealer Sol didn't dominate Tahe for over a hundred years for nothing. Plus it still held most of the system permissions. Nol roughly estimated that, even with Teest and him together, they couldn't cleanly finish off Star Stealer Sol's true form within half an hour under its full defense.
So, he had more important things to do now.
Facing the attacking Players, Nol seriously cast magic, creating… a fake health bar.
He brazenly topped it on his head, dodging the opponent's attacks while secretly modifying the values, making it look like he was losing health reasonably.
Magic mixed with arrows created colorful attacks that came like fireworks to his face.
Surrounded by blue flames, Nol felt oddly elated.
He recognized all the Player professions on the other side, remembered all the effects of their skills and their attack trajectories, and calculated everyone's cooldown times and attack values. He could—only he in this world could—act like a real tough boss in front of experienced Players.
He hadn't yet dominated the system, but for the first time, he felt like he was dominating the world. The barrage of bullets and fireworks turned into twinkling dots in those blue eyes.
For a moment, Nol forgot about Star Stealer Sol, forgot those cumbersome hatreds and pasts.
Come on, let's play together.
Get tired and go home.
Blue flames swirled around him, turning into magic circles of various sizes. The Holy Land churned as white tiles flipped over. Above in the sky, on the ground, in the water, countless skeletons appeared, and their eye sockets ignited with blue flames. In the dark night, those flames looked like cold stars falling into the world.
Hot Ash drew his long sword, and the fire burned a swath of undead creatures around him.
Was the first phase using a sea of monsters tactic? Looking at the humanoid avatar's rate of health loss, that guy's strength was still within their tolerance.
He raised his head, staring directly at the beautiful incarnation of the Demon King.
"Combat team, follow up!" Hot Ash commanded loudly. "Focus on attacking the humanoid part first!"
The combat team, all equipped with flying gadgets and mounts, rushed towards Nol.
The attack went from a trickle of probes to a furious tsunami, Nol didn't dodge them all, deliberately taking a few hits to make it look like he was injured—his long hair was disheveled, and there were several tears on the edges of his wing membranes. His dark, magnificent robe was tattered, revealing a shoulder.
Nol's fake health bar dropped dramatically, entering the 10% range.
It's about time. Nol smiled. Facing the many Players up close, he didn't hide this smile. The next second, his body and the "umbilical cords" behind him were covered in blue fire, and the fake health bar rapidly filled up.
…I know what you'll think.
"Group One, continue to draw aggro. Group Three, cut the connections!"
As Nol expected, Hot Ash immediately switched tactics. "It's replenishing its health through the main body—!"
…I know what you'll do.
"Report, the umbilical cords can't be cut!" replied the Saints combat Group Three. "They regrow as soon as they're cut. All attacks are ineffective!"
Because those umbilical cords were equivalent to his fake health bar, Nol thought. They were just the most basic fakes, containing no power. Since they were nothing more than ordinary, repairing and fabricating them was easy.
…I know how you'll choose.
Nol could hear the whispers among the Player teams.
"Maybe it's not time to fight this guy yet. The system's locked the health with a mechanism."
"This game's freedom isn't that low. Hermitage has said, in theory, anything's possible…"
"If it really wanted to lock health, it wouldn't drop to 10% and then recover. There's definitely something here."
...
On the ground, Hot Ash bowed his head in thought. Finally, he took a deep breath and personally mounted a crimson wyvern.
When they first engaged, he had the strategy analysis team perform a special appraisal. The name of that young man was undoubtedly "Demon King[?]". That [?] probably hinted that it was just an avatar, not the true body.
"Group One and Three draw aggro. Group One follows me. Let's check out the big one!"
Hot Ash issued a new command.
…Exploration, adventure, imagination. Wasn't this the essence of gaming?
Nol pretended to panic, turned towards Hot Ash's direction, and carefully missed all attacks. Hot Ash, leading the Saints elite, rushed towards Star Stealer Sol's true body, but as they flew halfway, their mounts began to struggle desperately.
"Can't get through! The monster's pressure is too strong!"
"That thing tried to stop us. The approach is right. We have to try!"
"That thing is too big. We don't have enough people, boss!"
Nol's smile grew wider. He raised both hands as the blue shower of fireworks exploded in the sky. Immediately after, a powerful presence emanated from a certain direction.
At the same time, Hot Ash urgently controlled the trembling wyvern and quickly flipped through the communication crystal. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with excitement.
"Continue!" he ordered decisively. "Reinforcements have arrived!"
Hundreds of giant figures pierced the night, flying towards Bissus. People hadn't yet made out the contours of the newcomers before feeling their terrifying aura—
Under the moonlight, dragons spread their wings and flew.
On the backs of each dragon, human figures could be vaguely seen. Following the main quest update, the long-missing Amazon joined the battle.
Led by Subelbot, the dragons glared at the monster in the sky, emitting roars full of battle intent. The ground's tiles cracked and rose under the control of dragon magic. Dragons leaped towards the sky, leaving behind solid and massively magical floating islands.
Those were the Players stairways to the sky.
Under Subelbot's instructions, the proud dragons directly attacked Star Stealer Sol's true body, with the Player's main firepower shifting accordingly. The new Amazon Players didn't even glance at Nol. Their attacks rained down like a storm on the four "moons".
Nol, pretending to be helplessly furious, exerted all his effort to call upon system permissions. He didn't need Star Stealer Sol's detailed panel or the system to spy on its skills. He only needed to do one thing—
Under the exaggerated attack of the dragon formation, accompanied by suspicious flickering. A dark red health bar appeared below the four eyeballs, shockingly only a third left.
Star Stealer Sol's true body was fully defensive. Even such concentrated attacks only scraped its health bar by just a little. But it didn't matter. This was enough—more than enough.
It showed its health bar.
Such a big scene, so many eyes watching, every minute and second would be remembered by the Players. Star Stealer Sol wanting to easily rewind time, wouldn't be so easy anymore.
Skeletons exploded in mid-air, and a pale rain of corpses fell from the sky. Dragons danced under the crimson moonlight, while the immortal Saints charged towards the monster tearing the sky apart.
At the center of this gorgeous night was the terrifying health bar of Star Stealer Sol's true body. It was like an exaggerated bloodline splitting the vast sky in two.
Below the health bar, Nol was wrapped in blue fire. Amid countless bright blue dots, Nol's presence was incredibly striking—flames centered on him, sweeping in all directions, as if to ignite the entire sky.
Nol pursed his lips, trying hard to look serious.
Well, this fire mainly served three purposes. Defense, guiding, and exaggerated visual effects—it illuminated the many floating islands leading to the sky, making it easier for Players to proceed.
"Dorothy!"
Hot Ash found the Amazon leader, who was furiously poking at eyeballs. "Xiao Li calculated that our output isn't enough. By dawn, we could only take down a little over half."
"Our calculations are similar." Dorothy shrugged. "The issue is this thing can be fought. Do you really want to find more people now?"
"I'm just thinking of other ways—"
Underneath the helmet, Hot Ash's skin was burning. The bosses from Paradise were still going through the motions outside the city, and the Demon King's true form was still on standby, only releasing a limited-power avatar.
This was an excellent opportunity!
They must unleash a barrage of attacks on the true body. Even if they couldn't kill it, they had to make the monster shed a layer of skin.
What's the next step? How can they maximize their output?
While madly outputting skills, Hot Ash feverishly pondered.
Below Hot Ash, the "Demon King's avatar" being focused on was riding a rollercoaster of health. In the intervals of dodging skills, the avatar sneakily lowered its head, looking towards the ground.
Half an hour was almost up. Nol counted the seconds, continuing to wait.
Above the ground.
Eugene looked up at this lively and magnificent battlefield, his gaze fixed on Nol's neck. His hand tightened around his sword. Should he go to assist? No, he couldn't… It was the will of God to find people. He couldn't go against God's thoughts.
After praying silently for a few moments, Eugene's cloak billowed, and he continued searching the vast church area of Bissus City. Suddenly, he slowed his pace—a few steps away, he sensed a peculiar aura.
A heretic knelt in a dark corner. Dressed in black, his shoulders and head were adorned with candles stacked with wax tears, and he was muttering strange prayers.
A follower of the Demon King? No, that's not right. Their magical fluctuations were very strange, distinctly different from the Demon King's power, with a strong sense of foreignness, like they didn't belong to this world.
Eugene carefully sensed for a while and found hundreds of similar auras appeared in the city. They were near and far, scattered in different districts… When did these people appear? What exactly are they doing?
"Who are you?" Eugene placed his sword on the heretic's shoulder.
Strangely, his "Dominator" had no reaction. The person seemed not to be an enemy of God.
"We pray for a bright destiny, for the bright eyes." The person replied with an ethereal voice. "The God of Fate shields the warriors from filth, allowing them to look directly at the enemy…"
Facing the Captain of the Investigation Knights, this heretic bore no hostility. Not only was there no hostility, but there was also an out-of-place aroma of food emanating from him. Although this person appeared detached, Eugene still spotted a few soup stains on his collar.
Under normal circumstances, Eugene would definitely capture these sudden heretics and interrogate them thoroughly. Now… the immediate priority was to find the real enemies of God.
Don't blindly follow doctrines. Trust your own judgment, Eugene.
Eugene decisively sheathed his sword. He passed the heretic, who resumed praying, and ran towards the direction of the cathedral. He hadn't gone far when he bumped head-on into the deputy captain rushing over.
"Did you find them?" Eugene's hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
"Captain!" His deputy captain gasped for air. "The Mad Monk appeared. He drove everyone away and sealed the main hall!"
Eugene's breath hitched.
The main hall? Painter launched [Mercy Countdown] in the main hall, and the time limit was about to expire. The Mad Monk couldn't possibly miss this piece of information. What exactly did he want to do?
"You continue searching for people with everyone else." Eugene patted the deputy captain. "I'll check the main hall!"
"God wants us to find…" the deputy captain hadn't caught on yet.
"I have my judgment!" Eugene rushed towards the main hall without looking back.
Suddenly, a blaze exploded in front of him. Eugene came to a screeching halt, disbelievingly looking towards the cathedral.
The world's largest Evergreen Church, the most magnificent prayer hall, was now engulfed in platinum flames. The golden flames, like a sword, pierced straight into the sky.
Blue fire in the sky and golden flames on the ground. The night was torn apart by them, making the surroundings of Bissus City as bright as daylight.
Eugene tasted blood in his throat. Before he realized, his body roared out—
"Mad Monk—!!!"
The author has something to say:
Nol finally starts a grand performance, fooling everyone. Poor Star Stealer Sol, ultimately couldn't outplay a corporate slave who's been mentally overworking for years.
Teest, who burned the biggest Eternal Church as a child, grew up to burn the biggest Evergreen Church. Such a promising child.
————————————
And yes, the followers of the God of Fate went to the battlefield after having their fill in the Tower.
After all, they are followers of the God of Fate (.